Fresh from the beginnings of Genesis and Matthew, I find myself once again surprised by God.
Of all things....Adam and Eve had expressly disobeyed God and ruined the beautiful world. Now, is there any reason why God should work with them in their disobedience by making them clothes? It's not like they didn't have the fig leaves. But for some unknown reason, God goes out of his way to help fix a problem caused by something he had expressly forbidden them to do. He comes up with a better solution than theirs to a problem they would have never had if they had listened to him. He walks with them through a darkness of their own making that he had specifically asked them to avoid.
I find this steadfast love shocking, something I would have never expected on my own, or written into the world's plot as feasible.
Over in Matthew 2, there's a story more horrifying. One of the world's most powerful leaders kills all the babies in his country but the one he wanted. Now think for a minute, about this powerful and ruthless state ruler, this Hitler. Who has ever heard of a leader killing only babies? It's the most bizarre story. Yes, children are sometimes victims of atrocities and war, but always along with adults...by-standers that everyone agrees are innocent. Not here.
I have no idea why God set the birth of his son on such a bloody and gruesome stage. I know it shows God's power, to have his Son delivered "from the dead" so to speak, since such a full-scale killing could not have been escaped by human strength. I guess too, it shows the world's great need for a Prince of Peace.
But it is still something I would not have expected.
This astonishing creativity is one of my favorite things about God!
Ever just the same, ever a surprise!
Ever as before, ever just as sure, as the sun will rise!
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